Fault Meaning and Definition
Fault
Pronunciation
/foʊt/
Part of Speech
Noun
Definition
A flaw, error, or weakness in a system, design, or plan that can lead to its failure or malfunction.
Examples
- The company identified a fault in their manufacturing process and corrected it.
- The software developer spent hours debugging the fault in the code.
Synonyms
- Flaw
- Ill
- Mistake
Antonyms
- Strengthen
- Improve
- Fix
Etymology
The word “fault” comes from the Old French word “faute”, meaning “defect” or “shortcoming”, and is derived from the Latin word “vitium”, meaning “disease” or “defect”.
Usage Notes
The term “fault” is commonly used in technical and engineering contexts to describe a defect or weakness in a system or design.
Cultural References
The concept of fault is central to many scientific disciplines, including geology, engineering, and computer science.
Idiomatic Expressions or Phrases
There are several idiomatic expressions that feature the word “fault”, including “at fault”, “to blame for something”, and “in fault”, meaning responsible for something going wrong.
Related Words or Phrases
Words and phrases closely related to “fault” include “mistake”, “error”, “flaw”, and “defect”, each of which refers to a type of weakness or deficiency.
Collocations
Common collocations with the word “fault” include “find”, “identify”, “repair”, and “correct”.
Frequency of Use
The word “fault” is commonly used in technical and scientific contexts, and is a key term in many fields, including engineering, computer science, and geology.
Common Misspellings
Common misspellings of the word “fault” include “falt”, “fait”, and “falut”.